National Field of Honour

The Gate of Remembrance

The entrance to the National Field of Honour is through the Gate of Remembrance, a medieval-style arch flanked by twin towers inspired by Tudor Revival architecture. The Gate was built in 1937 at a cost of $11,850, of which $5,000 was donated by the city of Pointe-Claire. Construction took 13 weeks to complete. ^[11] The Gate of Remembrance serves as a memorial to all those who made the supreme sacrifice for their country. Over the years, it has served a number of purposes: it was once the home of the groundskeeper, later housed administrative offices, and for a time contained the Last Post Fund archives. The south tower houses an ecumenical chapel, which was added in 1973 with funds donated by former LPF director Bruce Brown.^[12] The architect of the Gate of Remembrance was Harold J. Doran, and the contractor was Francis King.^[13] Harold J. Doran is also recognized as the architect of Benny Farm in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, a social housing project for Second World War veterans built between 1946 and 1947.

Arthur Hair Reception Center

This building to the north of the Gate of Remembrance is named after the founder of the Last Post Fund. It is used as the cemetery’s office. Before information became accessible online, it served as a reception and interpretive centre where visitors learned about the Field and the backgrounds of buried veterans.

Currie Circle

The Currie Circle is dedicated to the memory of Sir Arthur Currie. At its centre stands the Cross of Sacrifice. Sir Arthur commanded the Canadian Corps during the First World War, and later served as principal^[14] and vice-chancellor of McGill University as well as president of the Last Post Fund from 1924 to 1932. He died in 1933 and is buried at Mount Royal Cemetery. On June 30, 1947, Last Post Fund Founder Arthur Hair became the first person to be interred in the grounds surrounding the Cross of Sacrifice, which are reserved for the burial of Last Post Fund officials. This Plot is known as the Directors' Circle.

The Flagstaff

A 22-metre (73) foot metal flagstaff was a gift from the Canadian Steamship Line. It was erected by the Dominion Bridge Company in 1930. Due to its deteriorated state, the flagstaff was replaced in 2022.

The Commonwealth War Graves Memorial (The Quebec Memorial)

This Commonwealth War Graves Memorial consists of two granite blocks. It was erected to commemorate Canadian service personnel from both World Wars who were buried in the province of Quebec but whose graves could no longer be marked or maintained. For this reason, it is also known as the Quebec Memorial. The memorial lists the names of 49 individuals from the First World War and 43 from the Second World War.^[15]

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission was established in England by royal charter in 1917. Founded by Major General Sir Fabian Ware, it marks and maintains the graves of Commonwealth service personnel who were killed in action or died from other causes during the two World Wars. The Commission also builds memorials to those who have no known grave and maintains records and registers, including records of civil war dead.

The Last Post Fund and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission collaborated to stop the recycling of veterans’ graves by cemeteries. Thanks to the advocacy of the LPF and the CWGC, this practice is no longer permitted in Canada.^[16]

Air Force Memorial

The displayed two-blade metal propeller belonged likely to a Cessna 172 Skyhawk. This type of plane was commonly used for military parachute training. The propeller is placed on a granite plinth, in memory of Veterans of the Canadian and Allied Air Forces. Flight Lieutenant Howard Ripstein donated this monument in 2003.^[17] He was a former director of the Quebec Branch of the Last Post Fund.

Army Memorial

In 1999, the Canadian Army donated a pair of dual six-inch cannons in memory of Canadian and Allied soldiers who died in wartime service. The company Sir W.G. Armstrong Whitworth & Co., of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, produced the cannons around 1860, likely for the British Army. The cannons bear the serial numbers 1457 and 1467. According to the plaques on the cannons, one was reconditioned in 1956 and the other in 1988.

Navy Memorial

An anchor from 1954 serves as a memorial dedicated to sailors of the Royal Canadian Navy and Allied sailors. The Canadian Forces’ Longue-Pointe Garrison donated the balanced stockless anchor in 1998. The anchor was manufactured in Sorel, Quebec, and weighs 30 cwt (hundredweight), or approximately 1,500 kg, a size commonly used on frigates and corvettes.

Memorial for Veterans of the Canadian Army

A heavy 32-pound-calibre cannon dating from 1887 was produced by E.E. Gilbert & Sons in Montreal.^[18] It bears the crest of King George III on top of the barrel. The cannon weighs 64 cwt (approximately 3,250 kg) and is mounted on its original wooden carriage, which has been restored and modified.

This circle is named after Lieutenant-Colonel Charles-Michel de Salaberry (1778–1829), the distinguished commander of Canadian troops who halted the advance of invading American forces during the Battle of the Châteauguay on October 26, 1813, during the War of 1812. A French-Canadian nobleman, he served in the British Army in Canada and commanded troops in Lower Canada at the time.

De Salaberry Circle and Veterans' Memorial

The Last Post Fund named this circle in memory of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles de Salaberry, who prevented the invasion of Quebec by American forces during the Battle of the Chateauguay. At the centre of the circle stands the Veterans’ Memorial, a large monolith bearing a plaque dedicated to the memory of all Canadian servicemen and servicewomen who died in the First World War, the Second World War, and the Korean War.

D'Urban Circle

This plot contains the oldest graves in the National Field of Honour, belonging to soldiers who fought in campaigns in Canada and around the world, dating back to the 18th century. These include the Fenian Raids, the Napoleonic Wars — including the Battle of Waterloo — and the War of 1812. These veterans were originally interred at the Papineau Military Cemetery in downtown Montreal, which was used by British forces from 1814 to 1869.

The Papineau Cemetery was located along the route now occupied by the access road to the Jacques Cartier Bridge. Prior to the bridge’s construction in 1944, the Last Post Fund relocated approximately 1,797 burials, together with the existing headstones, to the National Field of Honour.^[19] Due to the poor condition of the records and the deterioration of the headstones, not all dates could be deciphered.

At the centre of this circle stands an obelisk dedicated to Sir Benjamin d’Urban, commander of British forces in North America, who died in Montreal, Canada in 1849. This general and colonial administrator is remembered for his frontier policy as governor of the Cape Colony (now in South Africa, where the city of Durban is named in his honour). As a soldier, d’Urban began his service in 1793 and fought in the Napoleonic Wars, where he gained distinction in the Peninsular War as Quartermaster General.

The obelisk is the National Field of Honour’s largest monument. It was erected by Benjamin d'Urban's former comrades to mark his grave at the Papineau Military Cemetery and was moved to Pointe-Claire when the Papineau cemetery was relocated in 1944.

Jewish Section and Monument

This section of the National Field of Honour was consecrated in accordance with the tenets of the Jewish faith to permit Jewish veterans to be buried here. An austere stone monument is dedicated to the memory of Canadian and Allied Jewish veterans who made the supreme sacrifice.

The Peace Circle

The Peace Circle was dedicated in 1997, after Canada changed its designation of veterans^[20] to include those who had served on duty around the world in the service of peace. The artist Jean Bernard, a Second World War Royal Canadian Air Force veteran, designed the Peace Monument. Atop a rugged block of pink granite sits a white dove as a symbol of peace. The words Paix and Peace are inscribed on a polished panel. The monument was funded through contributions from government, veterans’ organizations, and private donors.

Canadian Artillery Monument

In 2024, the Second Field Artillery Regiment, RCA, gifted a Howitzer 105 mm - C1, which was in service with the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery between 1956 and 1998, to the National Field of Honour. The Ambassador of France to Canada, Michel Mirallet, unveiled the monument in 2024, during the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944.

The Columbarium

Taking advantage of the 2005 official Year of the Veteran^[21] the cemetery added a twelve-unit granit-stone Columbarium at the west end of the property for up to 800 urne burials.

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  Commonwealth War Graves Memorial at the National Field of Honour
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  Mapsign at National Field of Honour Pointe-Claire
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  Stained Glass Window of grieving soldier by Nicole Gascon
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  Howitzer 105 mm - C1, Canadian Artillery Monument
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  D'Urbain Circle with Obelisk
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  One of two dual six-inch cannons of the Army Memorial
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  Peace Dove, detail of the Peace Circle Monument
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  Two-blade propeller, detail of the Air Force Memorial
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  Sun Dial indicating the hour close to noon
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  Gravemarker for Sergeant Leo Major
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  School Visit at the National Field of Honour April 2026
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  Painted stones to commemorate veterans at the National Field of Honour
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  Monument of the Peace Circle at the National Field of Honour
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  Duck swimming in the watergarden at the National Field of Honour Pointe-Claire
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  12-part Columbarium at the National Field of Honour in Pointe-Claire